Birds of a Feather
by firefly81
Summary: While in New York, Hermione meets up with a girl that reminds her of herself. Written for the "A Demigod Wizard's Duel at the Hunger Games" Competition.


It was quite peaceful here, surprisingly so, she thought. The day was comfortably warm with a slight breeze in the air that gently ruffled the leaves of the trees around her. She could almost forget she was in the midst of one of the biggest cities in the world, until the sounds of adults yelling and children shrieking startled her from her musing. Almost, she sighed, almost. It was why she had ventured into Central Park and was now currently sitting on the shore of a fairly large – for its location – body of water with a book as her only companion.

She was currently in the States finishing up a mission she only consented to because she owed Kingsley a favor. Even though she was no longer in the Creatures Department, she was still considered to be the best person to contact in case of an emergency. And New York had an emergency. How a nest of Acromantulas ended up on this side of the pond she didn't know, but that wasn't her problem. She contained the issue and it was now up to the American Aurors to figure out what happened.

"What have we got here? That looks like an interesting book, _The Greek Influence on the Wizarding World_. I've never heard of that before and I've read pretty much any book I could get my hands on about the Greeks."

Hermione looked dumbfounded at the girl who had just plopped herself down right next to her. This wasn't overly surprising as New Yorkers were known to be slightly pushy, but the fact that the girl could see the actual title of her book certainly was – especially because she happened to be in Muggle New York.

"It's... a very rare book. There aren't that many copies still in existence," she lied, thankful that some parts of her husband's Slytherin behavior had managed to rub off on her.

"Oh, I'll have to look it up on the Internet. I don't like that there might be something I missed. I always like to know the most I can about any subject. My boyfriend says I can out-research anyone."

"Oh? My husband often says the same about me. When I attended school, the kids – and some professors – would call me a know-it-all."

Hermione studied the girl as she prattled on about her favorite subject – geometry – and how much she loved to learn. She was young, although most likely not all that much younger than her. She couldn't help but smile at the girl's bubbly personality.

"So, what are you doing in New York? Are you from London? I've never been to London, but I've read all about it, of course."

"I'm here for work, just finishing up, actually. I'm scheduled to leave in a couple of hours but wanted to relax before heading home. I'm afraid my husband is a bit put out with me at the moment as I'm not supposed to be doing field work anymore," Hermione answered, surprising herself at what she revealed to the girl. She wasn't normally so talkative with complete strangers, but there was just something so comforting about her. Maybe it was because she reminded her so much of herself.

"I understand. Seaweed brain – my boyfriend – can be like that sometimes as well if he thinks I'm putting myself in danger."

"You call your boyfriend seaweed brain?"

The girl laughed. "Yeah, it's a bit of an inside joke."

"Well, it's certainly been nice talking to you, but I have to start heading back to my hotel."

"Oh, sure! Don't let me keep you. If you ever come back to New York, look me up. It's always nice to have someone who enjoys talking about books. The name's Annabeth Chase."

Annabeth was up and walking away before Hermione could even respond. She wasn't sure how someone could move that fast. Gathering her things, she made her way back to her hotel so she could pick up her portkey, completely forgetting about the fact that this Annabeth had been able to read the title on her book.

* * *

Task 5: Crossover Task

Optional Prompts:

4\. What have we got here?

10\. geometry

11\. breeze

Special thanks to my beta, erbkaiser and my teammate, Raybe, for help with the title.


End file.
